Danielle Cote

This was originally posted on February 7, 2025.

Every Friday morning my brain is on overdrive.

But, every Friday for 50 (ish) minutes my brain turns off the color coded calendar, endless to do list and general madness of the world.

While the music alone could probably block out a fair majority of my aimless thoughts, I can always count on all the memorized content to ensure my mind isn’t able to wander.

And then, all of the things that happen in the moment. Being so present in the room and speaking (well at least attempting to) everything that’s unfolding in real time.

I hate to say it, and I know I need to be FAR better at this, but so much of my time is spent splitting my time between more than one thing, but that’s not the case when I’m teaching.

My mind can wander a bit when I’m the one taking class, but it’s far less likely to happen when I’m teaching. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely have those moments of “did I turn off the straightener” or “what am I getting to eat after this” but for 98% of the time I am locked in.

Sometimes the analogies work, maybe even the joke lands… no matter what I can always count on that the clients give me an opportunity to really feel like ME.

And not me the employee. And not me the Mom. And not me the partner or friend or daughter. All of those things make me part of who I am. And every single second of my life has contributed to each of the hats I wear in some way or another. They’re all incredibly special in their own way, but in this particular season of life some of them could use a lil extra time.

More times than not, I’ve found that before a client stepped into the studio they were not always feeling their best. A sleepless night. A fight with a loved one. Got stuck in traffic. Lost a job. Taking care of a sick family member. Got some kid of bad news. The list goes on and on. Often times, they know they’re returning to the reality as soon as they step back outside, but hopefully they’re leaving feeling just a bit more prepared to take on whatever the heck the day or life throws their way.

When I walk outside and head to my car, I imagine it’s what my computer feels like when I restart it. Here’s my reminder to restart both my computer and myself more.